With an optoelectronically readable code, it is possible to present information on a product in a simple manner. Examples of this are a product number represented by a barcode or an Internet address (uniform resource locator) represented via a QR code, which, for example, directs to an Internet site of the product producer. Here, the cell types of such codes must be sufficiently different in terms of their optical contrast such that the cells can be detected and distinguished by an optoelectronic reader. Usually, a code has two cell types, which differ in terms of the color thereof, for example by way of the hue and/or the saturation and/or the brightness thereof. What emerges from this is an optical contrast in the brightness or intensity of the light reflected by the cells of the different cell types, which can be detected by an optoelectronic reader and used for distinguishing between the cell types. On account of the high optical contrast, the combination of black and white cells is a conventional representation in this case. Usually, such codes are attached onto the product surface in the form of an additional colored layer during or after the production of the product.
Here, a “code” is understood to mean the imaging of data using symbols. A “cell” is a two-dimensional region, which, as a result of the optical appearance and/or geometric form thereof and/or together with further cells, represents such a symbol. Two cells of one cell type have a similar optical appearance and/or geometric form. Two cells of different cell types differ significantly in terms of the optical appearance and/or the geometric form thereof. An “optoelectronically readable” code can be detected by an optoelectronic reader and can be decoded and interpreted via appropriate software.
CA 2311960 C has disclosed a vehicle pneumatic tire and a method for the production thereof, which has a rubber label with a barcode made of ink or printing ink on the surface of the tire sidewall. During the production of the vehicle pneumatic tire, the rubber label is applied to the surface of the unvulcanized vehicle pneumatic tire and vulcanized together with the latter.
The use of a layer made of different materials and/or colors to the material and/or the color of the product surface on the product surface can have a negative effect on the overall impression of the product in the eyes of an observer. Moreover, the readability of such a code is restricted by, for example, the demands on the other materials and/or colors during the production and/or the use of the product. This can occur as a result of expansion or the action of heat during the production or discoloration by solar irradiation or the layer detaching in the case of mechanical load during use of the product. Especially in large production numbers, it is moreover complicated and expensive to provide each individual product with an additional layer. Therefore, there is an endeavor to be able to apply the code on the product surface in a more cost-effective and simple manner.